Michigan basketball guts out 67-64 win over No. 11 Wisconsin behind big performances from Vladislav Goldin, Danny Wolf

Michigan Wolverines basketball trailed by nine points in the first half and six at halftime, but came alive in the second half to win 67-64. The Wolverines got huge performances from big men Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf, who combined for 44 of the team’s 67 points.

Michigan picked up its first Big Ten win in the conference opener, beating the No. 11 team in the nation on its own home floor. The Badgers were 8-0 to begin the year and fell for the first time at the Kohl Center.

Here’s a recap of how the game unfolded.

First half

Michigan had some defensive rebounding woes in the early going, with Wisconsin grabbing 4 offensive boards in the first four minutes, leading to a pair of second-chance points. Guard John Tonje, a Missouri transfer averaging 22.9 points per game, hit a three to put his team up 5-2.

Michigan junior forward/center Danny Wolf scored the Wolverines first two points and had 3 blocks in the first 3:30 of game time.

Wisconsin went on a 7-0 run by getting to the free throw line, and went up 17-8 with 11:52 to go in the first half. The Badgers made five free throws in that stretch, and Tonje also stole a pass by junior guard Tre Donaldson and slammed an emphatic dunk on the other end. Michigan had made only 1 of its last 7 field goal attempts at that point, going scoreless for over two minutes.

Michigan led 20-18 at the under-eight media timeout with 7:05 on the clock, thanks to an extended 12-1 run. Wolf had seven of the 12 points in that span, and graduate center Vladislav Goldin started to step up. He missed a three that led to a second-chance Wolf layup, and he also had a monster dunk, one of two in that stretch.

Michigan went on a major cold streak, going scoreless for over five minutes and allowing Wisconsin to go on an 11-0 run to take a 29-20 lead at the 2:41 mark, when Michigan head coach Dusty May called a timeout. The Badgers made only 1 of their first 5 shots at the rim but started to get some easy buckets in addition to the free throws — with a layup and two dunks during the 11-0 surge.

Michigan wound up missing its final 11 field goal attempts of the half, going without a make in the last 7:42. Layups, three-pointers, you name it — they didn’t go in for the Wolverines, who shot just 21 percent from the field in the first half (7-of-33 overall, 2-of-16 on threes).

Wolf (9 points) and Goldin (7) led the Maize and Blue in scoring, but the efficiency wasn’t at a high level, with the big man duo combining to shoot 5-of-12 from the field.

Wisconsin shot just 32 percent overall but did get to the free throw line to go 9-of-13 on foul shots. Michigan was in the game at the break despite the brutal shot-making.

Second half

Michigan’s big men took over early in the second half, and Michigan led 44-41 with 14:26 to play. The Wolverines saw Goldin (10) and Wolf (5) combine for 15 of the team’s first 18 points of the half. Wolf added 4 assists in that span.

Tonje, who sat with some foul trouble at the end of the first half, had 7 of Wisconsin’s first 9 points of the stanza, which was much more fast-paced and shooter-friendly than the first 20 minutes.

Wisconsin guard John Blackwell heated up with six straight points, with four of them coming via offensive rebounds, but Michigan redshirt junior forward Will Tschetter answered with a triple to tie the game at 47-47 with 12 minutes to go.

Wisconsin really started to beat Michigan up on the boards. The Badgers had 12 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds at the 7:40 mark, just after Tonje tied the game with a triple that came from a rebound by forward Nolan Winter. Tonje’s triple was a back-breaker.

Wolf picked up his third personal foul on a Kamari McGee take at the rim that resulted in an and-one and made free throw to give Wisconsin a 55-54 edge. May trusted wolf enough to keep him in the game with just over seven minutes remaining.

Wolf continued to take over for Michigan, notching a steal and taking it coast to coast through the Badger defense for a nifty layup, before making another crafty finish at the rim to make it 59-57 Michigan with 5:09 to go. Junior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. also woke up with a big block at the rim and layup on the other end. The Wolverines trailed 62-61 at the 3:36 media timeout.

Gayle missed the front end of a one-and-one when he had the chance to tie the game or give Michigan a lead (down 62-61), but two possessions later he found Goldin underneath for his second-straight dunk, with the first coming on a ball-screen feed from Wolf (his fifth assist). Goldin had 22 points at that juncture to Wolf’s 20. Michigan led 65-64 with 1:25 to go, when Wisconsin called timeout.

Finished with No Tre – Rubin in with Nimari and Roddy and the two bigs … huge Goldin lefty hook finish 67-64

Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit got off a relatively clean three-point attempt with nine seconds to go, with graduate guard Rubin Jones — in for Donaldson to close out the game — rotating over to help get the shooter off his spot. Gayle got the rebound and was fouled but missed his second front end of a one-and-one down the stretch.

Michigan fouled up three points, and Winter missed the front end of his one-and-one attempt. Michigan got the board — Goldin was fouled and missed his own front end, but Tonje’s last-second heave didn’t go.

Michigan held on to win 67-64.

Michigan vs. Wisconsin box score